Campaign highlights normality of sex assault freezing response
AN AUSTRALIAN-first public awareness campaign aims to dispel the myth the “normal” reaction to rape is to scream, or fight back. There is a third reaction.
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AN AUSTRALIAN-first public awareness campaign aims to dispel the myth the “normal” reaction to rape is to scream, or fight back.
Jessica Cave, a sexual assault counsellor with the Nepean-Blue Mountains Local Health District (NBMLHD), said over 50 per cent of assault survivors in fact “just froze”.
Hence the name of her health district’s new campaign — #ijustfroze.
“When frightened parts of our brain can actually shut down and immobilise our bodies,” Ms Cave said, adding “it’s a perfectly normal reaction and out of our conscious control.”
It comes as latest crime figures show western Sydney continues to be the most-plagued region in the state for domestic and family violence incidents, with Penrith ranking second behind Blacktown for the number of incidents for the 12 months to June 2017.
For sexual assaults, Penrith is ranked third behind Sydney and Blacktown.
Ms Cave said they had developed #ijustfroze resources, including flyers and a stress square cleverly shaped like an ice cube, which had already been distributed to the police commands and the police prosecutors in the Penrith, Parramatta, and Campbelltown areas.
“I hope the resource can help police, lawyers, and court agencies to convey to victims that their response (to ‘just freeze’) is a normal and natural one,” Ms Cave said.
The campaign is modelled on Rape Crisis Scotland’s #ijustfroze campaign, launched this year in March.
Ms Cave said research showed of the already few survivors of sexual assault who talked about their experience to someone else, less than 15 per cent actually reported the crime to police.
She told of survivors she had supported who had martial arts training, and yet froze when attacked.
“It’s just not a normal reaction to fight back, particularly if they think they’re going to die,” Ms Cave said.
While acknowledging it can be confronting when a friend tells you they have been sexually assaulted, she recommended letting the person know you are sorry this has happened to them and that you believe them.
“The language you use is very important,” she said.
“It should make them feel that they can talk without being judged.”
■ If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault or domestic or family violence, call 1800 RESPECT on 1800 737 732. In an emergency, call triple-0.
LOCAL HEALTH DISTRICT RESPONSE
JESSICA Cave works within the NBMLD’s Integrated Violence Prevention and Response Service (IVPRS) which covers the Lithgow, Blue Mountains, Hawkesbury and Penrith council areas.
“We support about five referrals a week, but that’s not representative of the number of people being harmed every week,” IVPRS’s clinical senior, Natasha McGing, said.
The IVPRS team provides violence prevention and clinical responses for sexual assault, child protection, domestic and family violence and victims of crime.
The team’s domestic violence counsellor, Shannon Hall, is a first-point-of-access to those accessing the Forensic Medical Unit at Nepean Hospital, where specialist staff help victims of domestic and family violence by providing the state’s only free and confidential service to record and interpret their physical injuries.
SEXUAL ASSAULT DEFINITION
■ Is any unwanted sexual behaviour that makes a person feel uncomfortable, threatened or scared. It covers: rape (forced, unwanted sex or sexual acts); child sexual abuse; and indecent assault (indecent behaviour before, during or after an assault).
IN NUMBERS
Recorded incidents of sexual assault, by local government area, for the 12 months to June 2017, according to the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research:
1. Blacktown — 272
2. Sydney — 235
3. Penrith — 178
4. Wyong — 171
5. Newcastle — 155
6. Campbelltown — 149
7. Liverpool — 133
8. Wollongong — 127
9. Parramatta — 115
10. Gosford — 113
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